Four-in-hand neckties are by far the most popular type of male neckwear today. Four-in-hand neckties are, of course, the type of necktie tied into a slipknot under the wearer's chin with wide and narrow portions hanging along his shirtbutton line.
Ever since four-in-hand neckties became popular in the 1870's, tying such ties into proper alignment of the ends has been a troublesome problem for millions of men and boys who wear them. Such neckties are in proper alignment, of course, when the ends of the wide and narrow portions are at the same level somewhere near the wearer's belt line, although for some proper alignment is when the end of the wide portion is a bit lower than the end of the narrow portion so that the narrow portion is well hidden behind the wide portion.
Millions of men and boys often have to tie, untie and tie a necktie repeatedly until the ends are in proper alignment. Even many who have worn ties for years find that multiple tying is a frequent requirement.
For some, the problem is avoided by buying pre-tied neckties which have metal or plastic clips for attachment near the collar of a shirt. This is the solution typically used for young boys. Since "clip-ons" have appearance drawbacks, their use is limited mainly to young boys. For many young boys, moving on to four-in-hand neckties which require tying is a part of growing up, and they struggle to achieve the level of incompetence of their fathers.
Many inventions have been made over the years addressing the need of making tie tying a less troublesome exercise for males. A number of patents have been granted on such inventions, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,499,260; 2,739,313; 3,305,933; 3,747,220; 1,917,651; 2,148,154; 3,321,773; 2,994,886; 2,343,979; 2,504,843; 3,797,044; 3,025,528; 3,490,073; 3,271,780; 3,335,426; and 3,571,935.
In spite of such efforts, the problem remains. There are a number of drawbacks and disadvantages in the tie-tying aids of the prior art. Many of the prior tie-tying aids involved marks of various kinds on the tie itself, including dots, notches, stripes and loops. Aids of this type have the disadvantage that they are useful only for help in tying the tie to which they are attached. They provide no aid whatever for any other necktie.
Other devices of the prior art include various scales and wall-mounted devices against which a tie is placed before it is put around the wearer's neck for tying. Such devices are intended to give some guidance in the tying operation, but they have significant drawbacks. For one thing, there can be many a slip between the gauge and the neck. When the tying operation is occurring there is nothing to use for guidance. Furthermore, such devices may have limited portability such that they cannot conveniently be carried while traveling.
Some prior art devices are rather complex and/or difficult to understand. Others do not account for the differences in neck size of wearers or for the different types of knots which may be tied in a four-in-hand necktie.
There is a need for an improved simple gauge to aid in reliably tying neckties into proper alignment.